Tuesday, 26 January 2016

A week ago, January 18th,
I attended a meeting at Newcestown’s well-appointed Bishop Galvin Central
School. By the scheduled start time of 8pm it was already standing-room only, around
200 people packing into the hall/gymnasium.

The outline of their
problem is this: A decision has been taken that under the ‘nearest school’ bus-route
rule, Newcestown Central School is set to lose up to 40% of its pupils in the
coming years. This decision has the potential not just to split families, those
with children already attending the Central School but whose younger siblings
will now be bussed only to the school nearest them; it also has the potential
to split this entire community.

It is a decision that
breaks a commitment made over 40 years ago when the Central School was being
established. With the promise of better central facilities and free transport,
parents agreed to the closure of smaller outlying schools; the former has been
delivered, in spades (thanks in the main to the community itself) but now, with
this decision, the promise of free transport to the Central School has been
broken.

BUREAUCRATIC LOGIC

On so many levels, all of
which were outlined at the meeting, the decision makes no sense, least of all
on the main reason quoted – cost savings, value for money.

Many of those now denied
bus transport to the Central School will still qualify for transport to their
new schools, in some cases possibly requiring new routes; many of those new
schools to which those approximately 80 pupils are sent will now also have to
build new classrooms to accommodate the potential new numbers, while classrooms
in the better-equipped Central School lie idle.

Greatest potential cost of
all however, and the greatest potential loss, is to the community itself.

When whoever it was that
made this decision took out their calculators, did they factor in the
devastation it was going to cause to the lives of the children, families and
community affected? When decisions such as this are made right across all
government departments – and they are, at a depressingly frequent rate – is
such devastation EVER factored in?

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

The frustration of the
parents in that room was palpable. They came for answers from those of us who
have declared our intent to run in their constituency (Cork North-West) in the
upcoming general election, they came for solutions; they got waffle, including
from yours truly – as a wannabe, there is nothing I can do.

Going from pillar to post,
trying desperately to find a way to have this decision reversed, trying to get
to those who actually MADE the decision, they are playing handball against a
haystack, all their efforts frustrated, their energy absorbed by the new great
machine where no-one is responsible for anything, no-one can be held
accountable as bucks are passed and hands are washed.

The buck SHOULD stop with
the Ministers responsible, Jan O’Sullivan and Damien English – can you imagine
either of them tolerating this happening in Limerick City or in Meath West? But
it’s not in their backyard so they don’t give a damn.

BUSSED OR BUST

We’re back in Newcestown
on February 12th for a progress report from all of us as to what
we’ve managed to do about this. Two people who were at the meeting on Tuesday
evening, and only those two people, can progress this, along with another who sent a
message.

Michael Creed, Áine
Collins and Jim Daly, Fine Gael TDs all three, are the ones with direct access
to those two Ministers. This ball is now in their alley. For the sake of the entire community of Newcestown, I
hope they too aren’t reduced to playing their handball against that haystack.

Regards,

Diarmuid O'Flynn

Those standing are parents of the children affected by the new bus-route rule